


He's an Idiot and He's a Little Dense

by mismatched_ideas



Series: It's Easier With You [6]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Dogs, I fell so hard into this fair pair hell help, M/M, Slow Burn, Social Media, asexual phichit, awkward conversation, gay seung-gil, gray-aromantic phichit, phichit is an idiot, self indulgent af, seung-gil is dense, they're both a damn mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-09-28 15:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10128308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mismatched_ideas/pseuds/mismatched_ideas
Summary: The story of how an idiot and a dense idiot try and get the other to date them.OrThe self-indulgent Seungchuchu fic I wrote to break my writer's block.(While it's put into my series and fits into that universe it is more or less stand alone. Reading the chapter "Phichit" in "It's Easier With You" might help with context but it's not necessary.)





	1. He's a Little Dense

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Caroline](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caroline/gifts), [alison](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alison/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seung-gil has a crush and he has no idea what to do about that. It doesn't help that he has a crush on someone he is 98% sure is way out of his league.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPEAKING OF IDIOTS, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ONE. AO3 posted twice and while trying to delete one of them I accidentally deleted both so yah. I'm an idiot. 
> 
> This is not edited at all, so I apologize in advance.
> 
> I was originally going to put this into my one-shot compilations but like firstly it's longer than expected and secondly, I feel like it is my duty to add more directly to this ship.

Seung-gil’s eyes followed the other man closely as he laughed and danced, his cheeks blushed from exertion and laughter. Seung-gil’s own cheeks where slightly flushed. If you asked him, he’d say it was due to the warmth of the room. Really, it was from listening to the other man laugh and see him dance. Seung-gil refused to admit to the crush he had on a man he’d barely spoken to but that didn’t change the fact that it existed. 

He rarely care much about the fact that he didn’t fit within the norms of social interaction but when it came to this moment, right now, Seung-gil wished he could be anyone other than himself. He wasn’t good at small talk, or really any talking. Normally he didn’t care, he had his family and his dog and he really wasn’t looking for more friends, but in this moment he wished he’d not been born so blunt and awkward. 

He looked down at the drink in his hand, non-alcoholic because he didn’t feel like getting drunk tonight, and when he looked back up his breath caught.

“Hey Seung-gil.” When did he get so close?

“You know my name?” What kind of idiotic first sentence was that?

“Of course I do.” Seung-gil loved the cute little pout on his face that only lasted for a moment before he was smiling again. “I mean, we’ve skated in the same competitions. And I absolutely loved your Almavivo skate, I only wish I could have seen it in person.”

“Oh.” He knew he should return the compliment, but the fact that he had seen every one of the other man’s routines made the thought of admitting liking even one mortifying. 

“I’m honestly surprised you came today.” He never stopped smiling, did he? Not that Seung-gil was complaining. 

Seung-gil shrugged, “Yuuri and I talk now and then.” More accurately, in a moment of complete panic Seung-gil had contacted Yuuri for advice. Not that Seung-gil was going to tell anyone about that. 

After that the two talked on and off, enough that a wedding invitation wasn’t surprising but little enough that an invitation wasn’t assumed. Now that he was at the wedding he guessed most of the reason he’d been invited was a distinct lack of attendees on Viktor’s side of things.

“No, I know that.” How much did he know? “I meant that I was surprised you came. You don’t seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Seung-gil made a noncommittal noise. He found that people rarely thought he was enjoying himself. To be fair, he rarely was enjoying himself. 

“You want to dance?” Seung-gil blinked at the slightly shorter man.

“Dance?”

“Yah.” He laughed. “This is a party. People tend to dance.”

“I don’t dance.”

“Oh. I just assumed.” He scratched the back of his head. “I mean most ice skaters dance… And your Almavivo skate just made me think…”

“I can dance.” Seung-gil corrected. “I just don’t.” After a moment of silence Seung-gil continued, feeling like he was just digging himself deeper into this hole. On the ice he could be logical and calculating. Off the ice he tended to just ignore everyone else around him. He hated to admit it but he knew that most of the reason he isolated himself was because he had no idea how to properly interact with other people. “I don’t enjoy it.”

“Oh.” The other man paused for only a second. “What do you do at parties?”

“I… umm…” Seung-gil knew he came off as blunt and rude but now he wanted nothing more than to be even a little likable. “I don’t really go to parties.”

He laughed. “I guess that makes sense.” 

“Though if I have to go, I’ll usually see if there’s a dog.” He blushed slightly at the admittance, “Sometimes I’ll even bring my dog if the party is near home. People usually don’t mind when you bring a dog.”

“You have a dog?” He grabbed lightly onto Seung-gil’s arm, butterflies starting to awaken in his stomach. “That’s so cute! Viktor and Yuuri have me watch Makkachin sometimes. Have you ever met Makka? Makka is a pretty cute dog.”

The butterflies in Seung-gil’s stomach took flight as he watched the other man go on and on about Makkachin, never letting go of his arm. 

“Phichit!” The man turned his head to look at the person calling his name.

“Coming!” He let go of Seung-gil to wave at the person before turning back to smile a Seung-gil, who was missing the warmth of his hand until he found himself basking in the warmth of his smile. The quiet man felt himself blush and was glad for the low lights and for the fact that any blush could be blamed on the heat radiating off the many bodies in motion. “It was nice talking to you. I gotta’ go do my duties as best man but we should talk more later. I definitely need to meet your dog sometimes.”

“Okay.” Was all Seung-gil could think to say before Phichit Chulanont disappeared back onto the dance floor. 

\---

“Seung-gil!” Phichit clapped the taller man on the back, eliciting a surprised gasp from him. “Didn’t expect to see you here.” 

Phichit smiled at him, the gold medal around his neck shinning though, in Seung-gil’s opinion, not nearly as much as his smile. Seung-gil’s heart was fluttering, his face blushed as well. He’d never expected to go through his entire teenage life without a crush only to fall so hard at 22. Well the crush started a while ago but it really was starting to reach what Seung-gil hoped was a peak. If it wasn’t he wasn’t sure how his heart would continue without exploding. 

“My sister is competing. In the junior competition.” 

“Oh yah, she was with you at the kiss and cry during the Olympics right?” Seung-gil couldn’t quite understand why Phichit was standing there, talking to him when he should be off celebrating his win. He should be with his friend and family, not making useless chitchat with Seung-gil. 

“Yah. I’m waiting for her now.”

“What’s her name? Can I meet her?” Phichit hid his medal carefully under his jacket, looking around like he was trying to hide himself. 

“I don’t know why you’d want to.” Seung-gil kicked himself for speaking so bluntly. “I mean, of course you can. Her name is Mi-na.”

After a few moments, his sister burst out of the crowd with a shout of ‘brother’ in Korean. 

She threw herself at her brother, “I’m so glad you came!” 

“You did great.” A soft smile spread over Seung-gil’s face. There were really only two things that Seung-gil cared about: his sister and his dog. They were really the only things that made him smile too. There was one other things but that was besides the point. 

She glanced over at Phichit, blinking a little in surprise. At first, Seung-gil assumed it was because she recognized him as the first place finisher in the men’s competition but the look she gave Seung-gil told him she had her mind elsewhere.

“Isn’t that the guy who’s poster you have on your wall?”

“You better not say anything.”

“Why’s he here? I didn’t think you guys were even friends.”

“He wanted to meet you.”

She snorted, “Oh so he’s into you then?”

“Excuse me?” 

“You’re trying to tell me that this guy who you barely know, who just place first in the men’s singles mind you, wanted to meet the fifth place juniors finisher because he’s nice.”

“We’re friends. And he is nice.”

“You’re full of–”

“Phichit!” Yuuri’s voice cut through the crowd surprisingly well, cutting off his sister’s speech. 

“Hey Yuuri.” Phichit smiled, embracing his old friend. 

“Good job today, you totally earned this.” When he let go, Yuuri turned to smile at Seung-gil. “Hi Seung-gil.”

“You know him.” Mi-na slapped her brother on the arm. “I know you’ve skated on the same ice, but he knows your name.”

Seung-gil rolled his eyes before nudging his sister forward slightly. “This is my sister Mi-na.” Pointing at the three newcomers and Phichit, he introduced them even though all four were pretty recognizable in the skating world. “This is Phichit Chulanont, Yuri Plisetsky, Viktor Katsuki, and Yuuri Katsuki. 

“Yuuri Katsuki!” Even Seung-gil was surprised by his sister’s sudden loudness. At this point he was used to how over excitable she was and generally opposite their personalities were but it was unlike her to be quite this forward with a stranger. “Your skating is amazing and if it weren’t for you I would have quit skating years ago. Thank you!”

Seung-gil knew his sister had talked nonstop about Yuuri’s skating after watching the Rostelecom Cup. But a lot of people were talking about Yuuri at that point and Seung-gil never gave it a second thought. Sure, she’d been really interested in seeing Yuuri skate in the past Olympics, almost more than she was excited to see her brother skate, but Seung-gil was never great at picking up on little hints like that. 

Seung-gil would be the first to admit he was a little dense. 

“Oh.” Yuuri blinked, surprised in his face. “I’m glad. I saw you skate today and you looked good. With some practice, you could be quite competitive.” Yuuri went off on a semi-lecture reminiscent of the ones Viktor used to give him. Or of the lectures Yakov used to give Viktor and Yuri. 

Phichit laughed, knocking his shoulder into Seung-gil’s, the taller man blushing slightly at the touch. 

“Never expected your sister to be such a big fan girl.” 

“I never noticed.”

“You don’t notice a lot of things, do you?”

SEung-gil blinked at the shorter man, “What?” 

But Phichit only smiled, “Never mind. I’m just babbling.” Seung-gil tried to press, but Phichit just waved him away. “Hey the four of us were going to grab a bite to eat, do you and your sister want to come?” 

Seung-gil smiled at the thought of how excited going out with them would make his sister, given Yuuri was apparently her idol. Also she was generally more social than him and would definitely enjoy an outing with personalities like Phichit and Viktor. 

“Sure.”

\---

Admittedly, Seung-gil knew very little about how to use social media given he rarely used it. He mostly used Instagram to look at cute pictures of dogs and Facebook to keep up with his sister.

That, and he used both to keep up with Phichit. 

He knew this crush was becoming idiotic, but he still indulged it. Nobody had to know, and it wasn’t like he was forcing anything on to Phichit. He was happy just being friends with him if you could even call their relationship ‘friends.’ Mostly he indulged it because he didn't see any harm in doing so.

At least until Phichit started dating that nice skater girl he met at the banquet after winning gold. After that checking Phichit’ Instagram became painful. He still checked it. Most he did this because he was an idiot. 

It was the April after they started dating that Seung-gil noticed the change in Phichit’s posting. Phichit had posted a picture before getting on a plane, saying he was off to visit his girlfriend in New York. The next picture was one of him and Yuuri, no girlfriend to be seen. Then nothing else from New York. Nothing with his girlfriend or about his girlfriend. Even after returning home, he posted a single picture in one week, which worried Seung-gil. He knew the other man could go without posting to social media but Phichit enjoyed it, loved sharing his life with the world, and it seemed so out of character. 

He wanted to ask Phichit if he was okay but felt like that would be overstepping the bounds of their relationship. Instead, Seung-gil liked the picture of Phichit and Yuuri before heading to bed. 

\---

When he woke up, Seung-gil noticed he had an Instagram message. Well, it took him a while to figure out what it was and how to access it. 

Once he finally figured out how to view the message, he couldn’t believe who it was. 

_phichit+chu: hey didnt even know you checked insta_

_seung-gillee: I do._

_phichit+chu: and you liked my pic \\(^o^)/_

_seung-gillee: You looked happy._

_phichit+chu: do i not usually look happy?_

_seung-gillee: You do._

_seung-gillee: Why did you message me?_

_phichit+chu: i thought we were friends?_

_seung-gillee: We’ve barely spoken._

_phichit+chu: im sry, im bothering you_

_seung-gillee: You’re not._

_seung-gillee: I just don’t know why you would want to talk to me._

And that was the truth. Seung-gil knew he was boring, blunt, and the opposite of personable. 

_phichit+chu: because youre nice and I like talking to you? why was that the only pic youve ever liked?_

_seung-gillee: Why?_

_phichit+chu: no other picture, then you suddenly like this one?_

Why indeed. The reason Seung-gil hadn’t liked any other pictures was he didn’t want to look like a stalker. If he only liked Phichit’s photos, he’d be obvious. But to counteract this, he’d have to like other people’s photos and that would take up a lot of time. Seung-gil didn’t want to do that. 

So why this picture?

He’d said it was because Phichit looked happy, but honestly, it was the opposite of that. Or maybe not the opposite, but it was different than that.

He was worried about Phichit and didn’t know what else to do.

_seung-gillee: I thought it would make you happy._

It took a long time for the response to come in.

_phichit+chu: oh._

_phichit+chu: howd you find out?_

_seung-gillee: About your breakup?_

_phichit+chu: yah_

_seung-gillee: Guessed._

_phichit+chu: did you guess why she broke up with me too?_

Seung-gil was confused by the level of aggression he felt from Phichit’s message. He hadn’t meant to make the other man angry. Not at all.

_seung-gillee: No._

_phichit+chu: she said she couldnt love someone who didnt love her_

_phichit+chu: she said i couldnt love her like she needed_

_phichit+chu: she said sex and romance without attraction or love or whatever wasnt enough for her_

_seung-gillee: Why are you telling me all this?_

There was a long pause in which Seung-gil tried to understand both why Phichit was telling him these things and also trying desperately to understand what he was even being told. 

_phichit+chu: because were friends, right?_

_seung-gillee: Right._

_phichit+chu: thats why im telling you. and i thought maybe youd understand…_

_seung-gillee: Sorry._

_seung-gillee: I mean, for not understanding._

_seung-gillee: So you didn’t love her?_

_phichit+chu: i did_

_phichit+chu: i just cant be romantically interested in her_

_phichit+chu: she didn’t believe i could love her if i did feel that attraction_

Seung-gil felt particularly unsure of what to do or say. 

He didn’t really understand what Phichit meant but wanted to help. He didn’t know what Phichit was trying to tell him but he really, really wanted to help. 

_seung-gillee: I’m sorry. I wish I could help._

_phichit+chu: would you date me even knowing i wasnt attracted to you? If i insisted i loved you and wanted to be with you would you believe me?_

Seung-gil started at his phone, unable to even think about the message. 

It was all hypothetical, Phichit made that clear, and yet…

_seung-gillee: I have to go. Goodbye._

And he closed the app, ignoring the notification he got no matter how much he wanted to tell Phichit that of course he would date him if he said he wanted to. Of course he’d believe Phichit is he said he loved him. Of course he’d date Phichit. 

But, running away was easier than facing his confused mind. It was easier than grappling with the idea that maybe it wasn’t fair to date someone who didn’t feel attracted to you. It seemed to Seung-gil that he’d just be using the other person, like he’d just be using Phichit. 

He got a Facebook message, it had to be from Phichit, and so Seung-gil simply turned his phone off. 

This was easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, didn't expect this to be so long. Or for it to end half way through but like I don't know where I want to go with these two anyways.
> 
> I fell way to hard for this pairing. It was painful. Also, I know how dumb it is to ship two people who legit never even speak or interact in any way but like here we are.
> 
> Don't know when part two of this will appear because I didn't really have a direction for this. It was simply mindless writing to snap myself out of my writing slump :P


	2. He's an Idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phichit is pretty sure he fucked everything up.

It took far fewer rings for Yuuri to pick up than Phichit liked. It was nighttime in New York City and while Phichit could make some joke about Yuuri and Viktor staying up all night, he could bet that instead Yuuri was having trouble sleeping again. 

Phichit wanted to be a good friend and ask what was wrong but he couldn’t quite think straight enough for that right now. 

“Yuuri, I screwed up.”

“What did you do?” Yuuri readjusted his grip on his cell phone, setting his book down as he settled in for a long talk with Phichit. Talking to Phichit about whatever was going on would be a lot better than sitting up worrying for no reason about nothing. 

“I was a little drunk last night and–”

“Phichit.” Yuuri sighed, knowing his friend was still working through his recent breakup. “You shouldn’t drink when you’re upset.” 

“I know, I know.” Sometimes Phichit was surprised by how parental Yuuri could be even as it happened again and again. It had started happening more frequently lately. “But that’s in the past.”

“Okay, okay. What did you do?”

“Well Seung-gil liked one of my pictures and I noticed because he never likes any pictures on Instagram. I might have messaged him to ask him why he liked my picture.”

“Okay…” Yuuri knew better than anyone that Phichit had been trying to test the waters with the taller Korean man for, well, years. Phichit might be gray-romantic but he still had a strong desire for a romantic relationship, which was why he’d started dating the girl who’d recently broken up with him. He loved he like a friend and felt they fit well together, which was really all he ever seemed to be looking for in a partner. Someone to hold and kiss and stay up all night talking to. Someone who understood even if he wasn’t romantically attracted to them, it didn’t mean he didn’t love them. 

“Well I got a little heated and I sort of told him everything about my breakup. And he said he wanted to help but didn’t know how and I asked him if, knowing I wasn’t attracted to him, he’d date me.”

“Phichit…” Your wasn’t even sure what to say to the younger man.

“And of course, of course, he said he had to go and won’t respond to me anymore.” Phichit sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “Yuuri why do I screw everything up?”

“Hey, come on. It’s fine. I’m sure he’ll respond and you can explain yourself and apologize.” Yuuri knew Seung-gil liked Phichit, or at least he used to, because the young man had let it slip in one of their short conversations. It must have been quite a shock for the man to be asked, in what probably seemed like a non-serious manor, if he’d want to date the man he had a crush on. How could you even respond to something like that? “What do you always tell me when I’m worried about something in my relationship?”

Phichit sighed, “I tell you to talk about it with Viktor.” He continued indignantly, “But this is different. I don’t even think he considers me a friend.”

“I doubt that’s true.” Yuuri knew that wasn't true but he was pretty sure everything Seung-gil had told him was never supposed to be repeated. Well, actually it was probably true that Seung-gil didn’t think they were friends but not for the reason Phichit seemed to assume. 

Mostly Yuuri spent a lot of time these days trying to push both men in each other’s direction without actually spilling any secrets. 

“Yuuri he won’t respond because he doesn’t want to be rude, I just know it. I bet he disagrees with everything I said and just doesn’t want to tell me because he’s too nice.” Yuuri heard what sounded distinctly like Phichit’s forehead hitting a table, his muffled voice seeming to prove that theory. “He’s so nice and like it would be so much easier if I could just like him.”

“Phichit.” Yuuri put on his best ‘Serious Parent Voice’ before speaking. “I don’t care how nice anyone is, if they don’t want to date you because of their arbitrary concept of what is necessary for a relationship then they’re not right for you. Maybe Seung-gil doesn’t like you like that, then you two can be friends. But if he does like you and he’s going to let something like that stop him when you’re saying you want to date him then guess what. He is not very nice and he’s not someone you want to date.” Yuuri sighed. “And I understand it’s hard but remember that there’s nothing wrong with you because of lack of attraction. Nobody loves you in spite of your sexuality, we all love you because you’re an amazing person who just so happens to not be straight.” Phichit sniffled on the other end of the phone, a few tears running silently down his cheeks. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Phichit agreed, smiling despite the tears. “Thanks, Yuuri.”

“Anytime.” Yuuri smiled fondly at his phone, some of his anxiety slipping away. Phichit had a way of centering Yuuri that he always enjoyed. Sure, he was still anxious but if even a little of it could bleed away he’d be happy. 

“Same to you, bro.” Phichit and Yuuri both smirked at his use of ‘bro.’ Some of the frat guys from when they were in college had come to really admire Yuuri after he beat them all at their drinking games, Phichit seemed to remember it had been some sort of competition aimed at getting them to be quieter during midterms, and had always greeted the Japanese man with a long, ‘bro.’ “Goodnight. Try to get some sleep.”

“I’ll try.”

\---

_Phichit Chulanont: Hey._

Phichit decided to attempt to contact the other man through Facebook since he was starting to suspect Seung-gil was ignoring his Instagram notifications. At least with Facebook there would a preview of the message so maybe he’d see Phichit wanted to apologize.

He also made sure not to use as much slang as in their last conversation, especially in light of the fact that every one of Seung-gil’s messages had been proper and well written. 

_Phichit Chulanont: I’m sorry for what happened the other day. I was drunk and acting stupidly._

_Phichit Chulanont: I won’t blame you if you don’t want to talk to me anymore._

_Phichit Chulanont: I really do want to stay friends… Or be friends, if we weren’t before._

He was starting to give up on the idea of ever mending their relationship when a message came in.

_Seung-Gil Lee: I’m sorry for leaving the message suddenly and ignoring you._

Phichit felts happiness and relief flood his veins for a moment before he remembered that now came the more difficult part of this conversation.

_Phichit Chulanont: No, you have nothing to apologize for. I made a fool of myself and made you feel uncomfortable._

_Seung-Gil Lee: The answer to your question was yes, I would date you._

_Phichit Chulanont: But I do want us to be friends still if that’s possible._

_Phichit Chulanont: Wait_

Phichit blinked at Seung-gil’s message, wishing he could see the other man right now. He didn’t know how to interpret that message and was really wishing for some facial expressions to help figure it out. Even he cursed social media sometimes. 

_Phichit Chulanont: Really?_

_Seung-Gil Lee: Of course._

_Seung-Gil Lee: It took be a while to think about it because I was conflicted._

_Seung-Gil Lee: I also was confused about what you were talking about but I looked it up and I think I understand now._

_Seung-Gil Lee: At first I thought it would be hard to date someone in that situation because I would feel bad, like I was using them. But then I thought about it and it is the other person’s decision and if you really like someone then you just have to take what they say at face value. If they’re lying to you then that’s a different issue completely._

_Phichit Chulanont: Wow. I didn’t expect something so deep from you._

He quickly added:

_Phichit Chulanont: No offense!_

_Seung-Gil Lee: I talked to my sister._

_Phichit Chulanont: Oh, haha._

_Seung-Gil Lee: She’s better at most things than I am._

_Phichit Chulanont: I doubt that!_

_Seung-Gil Lee: It’s true._

_Phichit Chulanont: Come on, you have to be better at something!_

_Seung-Gil Lee: I guess I’m a better student but she’s even catching up there._

_Phichit Chulanont: Did you like school?_

_Seung-Gil Lee: It was boring._

_Phichit Chulanont: Did you go to college._

_Seung-Gil Lee: No, but I am now._

_Phichit Chulanont: What are you studying?_

_Seung-Gil Lee: Computer science._

_Phichit Chulanont: Do you like it?_

_Seung-Gil Lee: No, it’s boring._

_Phichit Chulanont: Then why are you studying it?_

_Seung-Gil Lee: I need a stable job._

_Phichit Chulanont: You should do something you like._

_Seung-Gil Lee: I did something I liked and I failed. Now I need to think about the future._

Phichit pouted at his phone, confused by Seung-gil’s assertion he’d somehow failed at figure skating. 

_Phichit Chulanont: I don’t think you failed. You got a bronze at the Olympics. That’s impressive, especially given the competition you were up against. I guess I assumed you were happy with third since you retired after that._

_Seung-Gil Lee: I didn't retire by choice._

_Phichit Chulanont: Oh._

Phichit had never questioned why Seung-gil had suddenly retired and at the time he didn’t feel like their relationship was such that he could ask. When he didn’t hear much about it, he’d just assumed it was a decision because he was satisfied with where he was. 

_Seung-Gil Lee: While training after the Olympics I hurt my knee really badly. I might have been able to get back to the point where I could skate competitively but it would have taken so long that it just wasn’t worth it. I would have been too old at that point._

_Phichit Chulanont: I’m sorry. I never knew._

_Seung-Gil Lee: I didn’t want anyone to know._

_Seung-Gil Lee: I have to go now, it’s late._

_Phichit Chulanont: Okay. We should talk more. I was serious about wanting to be friends._

_Seung-Gil Lee: Okay._

_Phichit Chulanont: Goodnight!_

_Seung-Gil Lee: Goodnight!_

Phichit sighed and let his phone drop down next to him. 

He’d done it. Somehow he’d been able to talk to Seung-gil relatively normally and he was able to convince the other man that they should talk more. And Seung-gil hadn’t seemed like he hated him. Seung-gil was blunt enough that Phichit doubted the Korean man was just being nice.

And sure it had been hypothetical but Seung-gil had said he would date Phichit even knowing he was ace and aro. 

It had been hypothetical but he’d actually said he would date Phichit. 

Hypothetically of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol remember when this was two chapters? I remember when it was only supposed to be one chapter so... I'm having so much fun writing this I might start another fic separate from this series about these two...


	3. And...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phichit has exactly zero idea how he got here. 
> 
> He wasn't sure how he'd ended up standing in Yangyang International Airport with a single suitcase and butterflies in his stomach but, well, here he was.

Phichit wasn’t entirely sure how he got to this point.

He and Seung-gil had started speaking more, starting with texting but eventually he’d been able to convince the other man to Skype occasionally. 

Phichit found that he was way too deep into whatever this was. A crush? Kind of, he guessed. He wasn’t actually attracted to the other man romantically, obviously, but he did want a romantic relationship with him. Phichit loved the friendship they had, it seemed like a pretty close friendship to him, and he wouldn’t mind something more with the man simply because they fit together so well. For two people with very different personalities, they worked really well together. 

At least Phichit felt like they did. 

Regardless of what relationship Phichit wanted, he felt confused as to how he’d gotten to this point. Standing in Yangyang International Airport with a single suitcase and butterflies in his stomach. 

He’d been mostly joking when he said he should turn his layover in the airport into a “long layover” in Pyeongchang. He had definitely been kidding when he said Seung-gil should let him stay at his apartment. Okay, he’d only been half kidding about all of that but Phichit never thought the other man would agree. 

But he had and now Phichit was standing awkwardly in the smallish airport, looking for his friend. Phichit had tried to convince Seung-gil that he could get to Pyeongchang by himself but Seung-gil insisted on coming to pick Phichit up at the airport. 

Finally, Phichit located Seung-gil and did his best to hurry over to the other man without looking like he was hurrying. Phichit was able to travel alone, he did it plenty, but he really did like it when someone was waiting for him at the airport. 

Phichit smiled at Seung-gil and actually stopped walking, feet firmly rooted in place, when Seung-gil smiled back.

Phichit felt his brain short-circuit because, well, not only hadn’t he expected Seung-gil to ever smile at him but also because sexuality aside, Phichit could admire how damn pretty Seung-gil looked when he smiled. 

“Phichit?” The taller man looked concerned and his smile evaporated. Phichit questioned whether it was even there to begin with.

“Sorry. It’s just, the only time I’ve ever seen you smile is when talking to your sister.”

“Well, I was happy to see you.” Seung-gil responded truthfully and Phichit did his best to force his blush back down. It wasn’t working. He was so busy trying to irradiate his own blush that he didn’t notice the slightly red color of the other man’s cheeks. “Ready?”

“Yah, let’s go.”

\---

Seung-gil’s apartment was bigger than Phichit would have guessed given he was a university student living by himself. When questioned, Seung-gil explained his family rented it since his father had to come to the city a lot for work, especially when Seung-gil was younger. His family didn’t use it much anymore but they still rented it out and Seung-gil had been more than happy to use the living space while in university. 

The moment the door opened Phichit heard the sound of nails clicking against the floor. In the blink of an eye, Seung-gil’s Siberian Husky barreled into her owner who spoke happily in Korean to his dog, smiling more than Phichit had ever seen. 

“This is Kongju.” The dog turned and jumped up onto Phichit, causing Seung-gil to reprimand the dog in Korean. “Sorry, she’s usually much calmer than this.”

“Kongju.” Phichit repeated, leaning down to pet the excited dog. “What does it mean?”

When the other man didn’t answer immediately Phichit looked up, amused by the warm redness of his cheeks. 

“Princess.” He finally muttered.

Phichit laughed and Seung-gil turned away, walking away slow enough to give Phichit time to get up and follow, Kongju following behind them. 

“You’ll be staying in my sister’s room.” Seung-gil showed Phichit to the bedroom. “My room is the one right across from this one.”

“Your sister won’t mind someone staying in her room?”

“Why would she?” Seung-gil blinked at Phichit before adding, “But I’m sure it’s fine. She knows you’re staying here.”

Seung-gil had told her about Phichit coming to stay for a little before he had to head back home and she’d given him never-ending shit for it. She was, for reasons unfathomable for Seung-gil, convinced Phichit wanted to date him. Seung-gil had told his sister she was crazy.

“Okay, as long as she won’t mind. I know my sisters are really crazy about nobody going in their rooms.”

“You have sisters?”

“Two, both older.” Phichit sat down on the edge of Mi-na’s bed, looking a little sad. Absentmindedly petting Kongju when she put her head on his lap. “I don’t see them much anymore. They’re both married with kids so they don’t have a lot of time anymore. They’re the ones who taught me how to do my makeup and stuff like that. And they were the ones who encouraged me to go to Detroit to train.”

“They sound nice.” Seung-gil smiled and again Phichit was taken aback his face burning.

“They are. They’d love you.” Phichit laughed, “They’d probably tease you a lot though.” 

Silence fell between them. At first it was comfortable but soon both men felt themselves wondering if they should be talking and it turned awkward.

“I have a little work I need to get done.” Seung-gil finally said. “Give me like an hour or two and then we can go get something to eat. There’s a TV in the living room. It’s in Korean but it still might be interesting.”

“Thanks.” Phichit smiled, “I think I’ll actually nap a little. I couldn’t sleep at all on the plane.”

“Okay. Just ask me if you need anything.” 

He closed the door on the way out, calling for Kongju to follow him, and Phichit flopped down onto the small bed, sighing as he sunk into the soft blanket. 

How did he end up here?

\---

Do you know that phenomenon where you get used to an annoying noise after while if it repetitive enough? Like when there’s a really annoying but really repetitive noise and you think you’ll never be able to think again because it’s so annoying but then you do because your brain is really good at tuning things out if the information isn’t deemed important?

Or how if you see something a lot, like every day, you start to forget it’s there because your brain doesn’t need to notice it every time? You know it’s there, but only in your subconscious. Like seeing a guy riding a unicycle is weird the first time but if you see him everyday at the same time and place for a few months it’s not weird anymore and you don’t even bat an eye?

Well, Seung-gil blamed this phenomenon for his making a fool out of himself. 

Seung-gil had no idea what Phichit had come to ask him and he wasn’t sure he’d ever find out given now he couldn’t even look at Phichit. His face was low enough it was almost squished against his notebook, the heat of his cheeks feeling warm enough to set the pages on fire. 

“That was one of my favorite costumes.” Phichit finally offered into the silence. “I may not have done amazingly that year but I had so much fun.”

Seung-gil wanted to argue that, given he’d gotten to the Grand Prix Finals, Phichit hadn’t actually done that badly but he couldn’t find his voice. His face lowered even more until his forehead was pressed against his notebook. 

“Seung-gil, please look at me.”

Seung-gil lifted his head a little, the redness of his face almost making Phichit laugh. He never thought he’d see the Korean man look quite so flustered. 

“I’m sorry, I forgot I even had this. I would have taken it down a long time ago if I’d remembered.” Quickly he added, “I don’t make a habit of buying posters of my friends.”

“It’s fine.” Phichit smiled, soft and calming. Seung-gil would never stop being amazing at the variety of smiles Phichit had and how pretty they all were. There was, of course, his 100-watt sunshine smile but then there were ones like this, which were small and slight but so calming. “It’s really fine.” He chuckled, “You should see how many posters Yuuri had of Viktor. Now that was weird.” He glanced down. “And I guess this makes us even after I made you uncomfortable over text.” 

“But that was–”

“Don’t say that was different.” Phichit pouted his lips, forcing Seung-gil to look away before his slowly receding blush returned. He was crushing on Phichit way more than he realized. “Because it’s not. Okay?”

Seung-gil nodded slowly, glad to put this behind them even if he wasn’t sure he’d ever get over the embarrassment. 

“Now, let’s get something to eat.”

\---

Phichit was learning more about Seung-gil than he expected as he watched the man pick peas out of his meal. 

“Don’t like peas?”

“No.” Seung-gil looked a little embarrassed, his hand stopping mid pea removal. “I don’t like vegetables.” 

Phichit had learned _a lot_ more about Seung-gil than he expected today. He’d never taken the Korean man as someone who would name his dog ‘princess’ so that had been a bit of a humorous shock. Then the poster, which led into Seung-gil explaining he’d really loved watching Phichit skate after he watched the Barcelona Grand Prix Finals. 

Also, Phichit learned the man could dress himself to save his life. He’d initially come out in track pants and a sweatshirt which Phichit had rejected. The next three attempts at an outfit were so bad Phichit caved and told him to go put the track pants back on. 

And now this.

“That’s adorable.” Phichit immediately blushed, not having really meant to say that out loud. Seung-gil was also blushing, staring at Phichit with wide eyes all while Phichit could see the gears turning in the other man’s head. Phichit wished he could listen in.

Finaly Seung-gil’s blush deepened and he broke off eye contact. “It’s not.”

Phichit swore Seung-gil was _pouting_ , though he could never confirm whether this was true because he found he couldn’t control his laughter anymore. The moment Phichit started laughing the other man’s face changed completely, looking annoyed. 

“What?” He asked, a little angry about being laughed at but also having a hard time actually being angry in the face of Phichit’s laughter. Phichit’s laugh was nice and watching his face turn red and seeing his eyes tearing up was also nice. 

“The face you made was just so cute.” Phichit explained between bouts of laughter, slowly regaining his composure. “I’ve only ever seen you serious. You never really looked like you were enjoying anything you did.”

“I always enjoyed skating.” His face looked almost disappointed, “Was it really that hard to tell?”

“Well…” Phichit thought for a moment. “It definitely gave of a cold, calculated feeling. Even your Almavivo skate.” His eyes softened. “But even through that I’d say you could tell you enjoyed what you were doing, even if it was in a different way than most people.”

Seung-gil honestly didn’t understand how Phichit managed to be so genuine and open at every turn. Seung-gil was blunt when he should be delicate and closed off when he should be open. Being around Phichit was confusing because Seung-gil wanted so badly to tell the other man how he felt, how he’d felt for so long, but the words never came. He couldn’t even bring himself to tell Phichit how much he’d liked the Thai man’s skating until he found himself having to explain why he owned a poster of him. 

He definitely could tell the other man how much he wanted to kiss him right now, in the middle of the small restaurant they were having dinner in. 

He needed to do something, think of something to say. Other than confess his feelings, what was it his sister told him he had to say?

She told him to ‘try and be funny for once in his life.’

“Hey, Phichit.” Seung-gil was not unprepared, he’d taken his sister’s advice to heart and looked up some jokes beforehand. 

“Hmm?”

“Where do hamsters come from?”

Phichit blinked at him, looking confused. 

“Umm… Hamsterdam.” Seung-gil finished, silence drawing out between the two of them before Phichit’s confusion melted into shock.

“Wait! Was that a joke?”

Seung-gil nodded, “Do you… umm… I could tell another one?”

Phichit smiled, “Please do. Do you have more hamster jokes?”

In truth Seung-gil _only_ had hamster jokes. They were all he looked up the night before.

“Why couldn’t the mother hamster tell her babies any bedtime stories?”

Phichit was already giggling, “Why?”

“Because she had no tale.” 

Phichit looked at the other man for a moment that dragged on a lot longer than Seung-gil was comfortable with. He was a bit worried he’d somehow offended Phichit until the man lost all composure, his laughing affecting his entire body.

His eyes were shut, his face red, and his body scrunched together. Seung-gil could see tears coming out of the corners of Phichit’s eyes and his laugh was loud but breathless. Seung-gil was pretty sure he’d never seen such an attractive not-attractive laugh in his life. Of course he rarely got to see people laugh, especially not ones as amazing and pretty as Phichit. 

As he laughed, his laugh also falling into silence due to a lack of air, Seung-gil found himself smiling fondly at his friend. 

Then, as Phichit was getting control of his laughing back, he snorted loudly and Seung-gil bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. But that proved impossible, the sound had been so cute and so funny, and he let his quiet laughter out into the air.

Phichit’s laughter disappeared, replaced instead with wonder at the soft laugh emanating from Seung-gil. Had he really made Seung-gil laugh? He didn’t even think Seung-gil did that and yet here he was, laughing at Phichit’s little snort like he was alone. Like they weren’t in a restaurant somewhere in Pyeongchang.

When his laughter petered out he gave Phichit an incredulous look, blushing slightly. “What?”

“I’ve just never heard you laugh.”

“What, thought I couldn’t?” Seung-gil was making an annoyed face that was dangerously close to a pout.

“No, just thought you didn't. Like with dancing.”

“Oh.” Seung-gil blushed harder, “I’m surprised you remembered that.”

“Of course I remembered.” Now Phichit was blushing too, “I like learning new things about you.”

“Oh.” Seung-gil took a deep breath, picking at his food without looking up at Phichit. He was one hundred percent unsure how to interpret most of what Phichit did and said. “Well, I like learning new things about you too.”

“Maybe we should learn more about each other then.” Phichit offered.

“Sure.” Seung-gil said noncommittally even though his mind was screaming yes. 

“Okay then.” Phichit nodded, both feeling strangely uncomfortable.

“Okay.” Seung-gil nodded back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I never expected this to be three chapters let alone for me to keep adding more chapters. I want to say "I swear the next chapter will be the last one" but I can't make those promises anymore. 
> 
> I started writing this to break myself out of a particularly bad bout of writer's block. After finishing my first moderate length fic I felt really listless and wasn't really feeling great about any of my writing. So that's how I ended up here and I think it might have worked? Only now I sort of want to write a standalone Seungchuchu fic... Or more accurately this is getting out of hand and BECOMING a standalone seungchuchu fic. Help me. 
> 
> I should be editing stuff I've already posted (With You By My Side is a fucking mess) but here we are.
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT: I forgot, this is the site I used for those dumb as jokes http://www.jokes4us.com/animaljokes/hamsterjokes.html


	4. He Tries His Best and He Means Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phichit really likes kissing people. It's quite nice in his opinion. He finds that it's even better if he's close to the person. He likes it most when he's dating that person. While he wouldn't mind _either_ kissing or dating Seung-gil he'd really like to do both.
> 
> Seung-gil mostly wants to hold Phichit's hand right now. All he wants is to touch them and see whether they're as soft as they look. Well he wants some other stuff but right now he's trying to focus on Phichit's hands. He wonders if all of Phichit's skin is as soft as it looks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry someone please stop me.

On the walk back from dinner Seung-gil spent a lot of the time trying to both resist and mask the urge to hold Phichit's hand. He could feel the heat in his cheeks and knew he kept glancing at the other man, his hands twitching. Even so, Phichit didn't seem to notice, instead his attention wrapped up in trying to see everything around them. 

Thanks to a non-serious but ill-timed injury, the Thai man hadn't been able to compete in the Olympics in Pyeongchang and stayed away so he could instead practice in the hopes to get back to his peak in time for the Grand Prix season. It was the first time Phichit was able to see the city and Seung-gil felt bad that he had to do so with only him. Seung-gil wasn't the best tour guide. 

“So, is there a fashion district or something?” 

“Umm… Maybe?” Seung-gil had pretty much no idea where something like that would be. “I have to call my sister later, I can ask her. We can go tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Phichit smirked, “I guess I shouldn't be surprised you don't know.”

“Excuse me?”

“You're a fashion disaster. I'll have to help you pick out some real clothes tomorrow.”

“You sound like Mi-na.” Seung-gil didn't see any problem with how he dressed but it seemed like nobody else felt the same. It wasn't that he thought he looked good or bad, he just didn't care.

“Sorry.” Phichit looked sheepish, “I shouldn't be mean. Your clothes are fine.”

“I know you were only kidding.” Seung-gil felt like people saw him as completely incapable of understanding simple social cues and, sure, he wasn't always great at interactions but that was more to do with his inability to choose the right words at the right time. He could tell what other people meant, at least when it wasn't anything too complex, but when he tried to speak or interact properly he fell apart completely. “I just don't understand why people care so much about how they look. It seems like a waste of time.”

“Oh.” Phichit's voice was small and uncertain. Seung-gil had no idea what he'd said wrong but he was already kicking himself for whatever it was. Just as he was panicking because he was sure he'd ruined everything, Phichit spoke again. “Do you think I'm shallow because I care about my looks?”

Seung-gil stopped, waiting for Phichit to do the same before speaking. Well, really he blurted out the only thing he could think to say.

“Phichit, one of the first things I thought when we first met was 'that's a really nice outfit he's wearing.' I've never thought that before in my life and I think looking at you was the first time I understood why people cared about fashion so much. So, no, I don't think you're shallow.”

If questioned later, Seung-gil would have blamed his sister for his sudden outburst. She had been the one constantly berating him for the past two weeks about how he needed to tell Phichit how he felt. He'd asked her for advice one time and now she spent half of all their conversations giving him her great advice. That's what he got for asking a high schooler for advice about a crush. 

But yes, he had to blame Mi-na. She'd put the idea in his head to be more open. To be, in her words, 'more like Phichit.' 

But for the moment he feel silent, blood pooling in his cheeks as he started down at the ground, a stormy expression replacing the moment of vulnerability Phichit had been allowed to witness. While Seung-gil was busy regretting ever decision he'd ever made, fidgeting anxiously with his hands and trying to ignore the burn of regretful tears at the back of his eyes, Phichit took a moment to think. 

Maybe he should have listened to Yuuri when the older man had advised Phichit against this trip unless he knew what he wanted. And Phichit had assured his closest friend that he did know what he wanted. He wanted Seung-gil and him to be friends. He also wanted desperately to date the Korean man but Phichit had grown more and more sure as they spoke that there was no mutual intention. 

Seung-gil had been so careful, when saying he'd date someone who's aromantic, to not say 'you' and instead made sure to use the generic 'they.' Phichit had tried flirting with the other man but got little more than blushing, and not always that, in response. Without Seung-gil even trying to reciprocate the flirting Phichit wasn't sure how to feel about Seung-gil's intentions for their relationship. He eventually settled on just friendship.

But then he took this trip and he was starting to see what Yuuri had meant. Phichit still didn't know what he wanted and he felt unable to decide whether the things he was noticing were actually signs of a crush or if he was hoping they were. 

The silence dragged on, people giving them looks as they passed, and finally Seung-gil had enough and stalked off in the direction of his apartment, glancing behind him long enough to see if Phichit was following. 

\---

Mi-na's voicemail answered for the fourth time and Seung-gil gave up on trying to contact her. He still wasn't sure whether he wanted to be angry with her or just get more advice. 

He groaned, realizing how stupid it was for him to be getting advice from a high schooler. He was tempted to call Yuuri but suspected Phichit might be talking to him right now. And Seung-gil tried not to talk too much about how he felt about Phichit when talking to Yuuri. It seemed wrong to talk to someone about your crush on their best friend.

Seung-gil just needed to tell someone about how badly he'd screwed everything up already. Phichit was here for less than a day and Seung-gil had already made him uncomfortable twice. First, he forgets to take down the poster he inexplicably owned of his supposed friend then he spouts some stupid shit about how attractive he finds Phichit. 

And Phichit had said nothing. He'd had nothing to say because how could you respond to someone when they said something as embarrassing as what Seung-gil said? How could you respond when all you wanted with for you and the other person to be friends?

Seung-gil was angry at himself but he was also strangely angry at Phichit. He shouldn't be but he felt like Phichit had left him out to dry. Seung-gil hated to let people see how he was feeling but he'd made an expectation for Phichit. He was pretty sure this would hurt less if Phichit had just laughed in his face. 

He would deserve that kind of reaction. He wasn't exactly worthwhile. Who wouldn't laugh at someone like him saying such stupid things to someone as amazing as Phichit Chulanont? He should never have entertained the thought of Phichit wanting to date him for even a moment, shouldn't have let his guard down. 

Openness was sort of a positive cousin of bluntness but Seung-gil was still stupid to think he could somehow master openness and make himself likable. 

A soft knocking on his door snapped Seung-gil back out of his swirling negativity, feeling bad for letting his thoughts turn so dark after he'd been so good for so long. 

“Yes?”

There was a long silence before Phichit spoke quietly on the other side of the door. 

“Can I come in?”

“Yes.” The door opened and Phichit shuffled in, looking more uncertain than Seung-gil expected. He'd been expecting Phichit to come in here and tell him he was cutting the trip short or something. 

“Umm…” Phichit had changed into sweatpants and a shirt that was a little too big for him. “Want to watch a movie?”

That hadn't been what Seung-gil was expecting but he found himself nodding, “We don't have a lot of movies in English.” 

“We can watch something Korean.” Phichit smiled but it was unconvincing. “I'm sure I'll be fine. And if I need, you can explain.”

“Sure… That sounds good.” Seung-gil was happy for a chance to not talk even though he, and Phichit, knew they needed to talk. 

\---

They were about half way through the film without a single word spoken between them. They sat like friends watching a movie, not too close but not too far away. Both men could feel the confused tension between them but neither wanted to talk about it. They were both afraid of the outcome. 

“Seung-gil, can I ask you something?” Phichit finally broke their silence, trying to keep his tone even and their conversation light. 

“What's the question?” Seung-gil wasn't ready to say whether or not he'd answer Phichit, his embarrassment about over sharing earlier still fresh in his mind. 

“If you could do anything, like any work, what would it be?”

“Skating.” Seung-gil answered reflexively, not questioning the conversation.

“Other than skating. Like when I asked what you were studying you said computer science was boring. What would you do if you had a choice?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I was serious about learning more about you.”

Seung-gil wanted to shout at Phichit, asking him what he was doing. Asking him why they were having this conversation and not the one they should be having. He wanted to tell Phichit that he's sorry for being awkward and embarrassing and that Phichit should just find himself a better friend. 

“You'll laugh.”

“I swear I won't.”

“I'd study music.”

Phichit tilted his head slightly, the movement too cute for Seung-gil who really wished he could stop blushing. “Music?”

“Yah. I'd specialize in vocals.”

“So you like singing?” Seung-gil nodded and Phichit smiled, “That's unexpected. But also, I can kind of see it.” Silence stretched between them before Phichit added, “If you want to ask me something, you can.”

“What?”

“You said you wanted to learn more about me too so why don't you ask me something?” 

Seung-gil's head was swimming, uncertainty pressing down on his mind and making it hard to think. 

“I umm… why do you… why would you…” He hated every word he was saying, hearing the issues with each and every syllable but like usual Seung-gil found himself unable to fix the idiocy flowing from his lips. “But I don't get why you'd want to spend time with me.” Having no question to answer, Phichit waited while Seung-gil tried to find the words he wanted to say. Of course, Phichit could pick out what Seung-gil's question really was, but he wanted to hear it from the other man. But Seung-gil pivoted quickly, “Why are you ignoring what I said earlier?”

“Earlier?” Phichit blinked, both because he hadn't expected the shift and also because he didn't know what his friend was talking about. 

“What I said about the first time we met.”

“Oh?” Phichit hadn't realized he'd never responded to Seung-gil. It hadn't been his intention and he let a groan escape his mouth, “Oh.”

Of course Seung-gil had been acting upset and distant, Phichit must have made the other man feel like an idiot. He'd told Phichit something personal and Phichit hadn't even acknowledged his words.

“I'm sorry, I didn't even realize.” Phichit played with the hem of his shirt, “I just wasn't sure what I should say to you… I didn't know what you wanted to hear.”

“I wanted to hear what you thought.” Seung-gil felt like that should be obvious. He'd laid his heart out and even if it hurt he wanted to know how Phichit felt. Well, he hadn't been that specific in his feelings but he had told Phichit he thought he was attractive. He wasn't sure how much more direct he could be without chickening out. 

Blunt when he should be delicate and closed off when he should be open. It was one of his many curses. 

“What if I didn't know what I thought?” Seung-gil's head jerked up, surprised at how quiet Phichit's voice was. 

“Phichit…?” Seung-gil knew he shouldn't ask the question on the tip of his tongue, but he had to. He had to know. 

“What?”

“Why do you ever spend time with me?”

“What?” Phichit repeated, his eyes dragging up to lock with Seung-gil's for a moment before the taller man broke eye contact.

“I'm not very fun to hang out with, am I?”

“Why do you say that?” Phichit wanted so badly to reach out and tip the other man's chin up so he could see his eyes. But if Seung-gil didn't even think Phichit liked spending time with him, how could he be up for the idea of them dating? Phichit was struggling more and more, trying to separate his feelings from the things Seung-gil was saying and doing. 

“Everyone knows I'm blunt and bad at small talk. I'm boring and I'm closed off.”

Phichit wasn't sure what to do. He'd not expected Seung-gil to be sitting next to him, shirt tangled in his fist, face painfully resigned, and tears in his eyes. He knew what people said about Seung-gil but the other man had always shrugged it off. Phichit never thought Seung-gil was so self-conscious about the things other people said were so wrong about him. 

“I don't think you're boring.” Phichit finally settled on, realizing that maybe he didn't have to figure out his confused feelings on wanting to try dating Seung-gil. The other man was just looking for a friend and Phichit could do that. To be fair, that's basically what he was looking for either way. “And being blunt isn't a bad thing. Neither is being closed off or being bad at small talk.”

Phichit reached out and touched Seung-gil's free hand, making the other man blush at the contact. His face was already red from trying to stop himself from crying and so the blush wasn't noticeable to Phichit. Also, Phichit wasn't paying much attention to Seung-gil's face, instead focused on their touching hands.

“I wouldn't have said I wanted to be friends if I hadn't meant it.”

“Okay.” Seung-gil finally said, trying not to think too much about how soft Phichit's fingers were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little lost and didn't know what I wanted to do with this chapter. Then I wrote too much. Save me I'm running out of good ideas for chapter titles. 
> 
> I rewrote the last scene of this chapter about 50 times because I couldn't decide what I wanted. And I rewrote this entire chapter about 5 times because I couldn't decide what I wanted. This was really supposed to be the last chapter, I swear. 
> 
> I'm pretty sure there's no way I end up adding another chapter after this. I'm 98% sure I know what's going to happen next so we should be safe...


	5. They’re Both Idiots and They’re Both a Little Dense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Seung-gil has no idea what to do he turns to his only other friend. 
> 
> That friend has decided they are too old for this level of idiocy. As the older and more experienced person, he decides to take matters slightly into their own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The alternate title for this chapter is "Yuuri Would Glady Slap Them Both on the Back of the Head"
> 
> Also, I'm pretty convinced Yuuri is everyone's "Advice Friend" ie everyone goes to him for advice even though he is sitting there like "I don't know what I'm doing, don't ask me." I've been the advice friend before and let me tell you, that can get frustrating really fast. 
> 
> I wanted to get this done before I went to sleep but I'm like really sleepy so I'm like sorry for the end of this. I was like having out-of-body experiences while writing the last few hundred words, that's how tired I was.

At some point, they fell back into silence and Phichit fell asleep, his earlier nap not enough to stave off his jetlag. His head was lolled to one side, his neck would probably be sore if he stayed in that position, and was not quite snoring but definitely making some kind of noise. Also, Seung-gil was pretty sure he was drooling. 

Before they’d started the movie Phichit had gotten ready for bed, going through his skin care routine to the subdued fascination of Seung-gil. Now that he was sleeping Seung-gil was glad to stare at him in the semi-darkness of the living room. 

Phichit looked so different without his makeup on. Not better or worse, just different. Seung-gil didn’t know much about makeup but had never really thought much about it. He didn’t know many men who wore it, at least outside of competition because if you were in a performance sport or art most people wore some level of makeup. Seung-gil wasn’t too fond of women in general, the ones he liked were exceptions, so had never really had the opportunity to think about makeup.

Seung-gil found that Phichit made him think about a lot of things he didn’t think much about before.

He’d decided he didn’t have time for crushes, let alone love, but then the first time he’d seen Phichit skate he found himself enraptured. Then he’d actually met the man and he couldn’t stop his crush from growing. 

He’d decided clothes were meaningless and that people who cared about them were wasting their times. Then he’d met Phichit for the first time and all he could think was that the other man looked so good. He started to understand a little why people cared so much. 

He’d decided he didn’t care about anything but skating, his sister, and his dog. Then he became friends with Phichit and he realized how much better life was when you had a lot to care about. It also hurt a lot more.

Seung-gil slipped his phone out of his pocket as the movie ended, fumbling with it until he got the camera open. The light was low but there was just enough for him to take a quick picture of Phichit. He felt wrong, his face bright red the entire time, but it wasn’t like he was planning to do anything with the picture. He couldn’t say exactly why he took the picture other than maybe the fact that Phichit looked just so adorable and peaceful. 

Then he quickly put the phone away and shook Phichit awake before leading the half asleep man to the bed, helping him get in properly before heading to his own room.

Once in bed himself, though, Seung-gil found he couldn’t sleep at all. Instead, his mind swirled with confused thoughts and unhelpful wishes. 

What had Phichit meant by not know what he wanted? Did that mean there was a possibility that Phichit wanted to date him? Or did he mean he wasn’t sure what he wanted in relation to their friendship?

Seung-gil was wary about pushing too hard for a lot of reasons.

For one, he didn’t know much about Phichit’s asexuality and aromanticism. He knew Phichit had dated at least one person in the past and that he seemed to like dating people but Seung-gil was still wary, not wanting to accidentally hurt Phichit or make him uncomfortable. 

There was, of course, the fact that Seung-gil didn’t want to hurt the relationship they had now. They were friends, and that wasn’t a title Seung-gil could give to many people in his life. His friends, if he was being generous, were his sister, Phichit, and Yuuri. Again, that was generous since he couldn’t really say whether he and Yuuri counted as friends. 

But the biggest reason he didn’t want to push, didn’t want to just straight up confess to Phichit, was because he’d never been so scared in his entire life. Concerned? Sure. Nervous? Of course. But terrified? Not like this, never like this. The closest he’d ever been to this afraid was the time he got separated from his mother in the city when he was only six.

With a resolute groan Seung-gil rolled over and grabbed his phone, finding the number he was looking for behind calling reluctantly. 

“Hello?” A sleepy-sounding Yuuri Katsuki answered.

“It’s Seung-gil. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Oh, Seung-gil. No, I was just getting up anyways. Why are you calling?”

“I need advice. I didn’t want to ask you because I felt it would be rude to ask you for advice about your best friend but I didn’t have anyone else I could call.”

“It’s okay, just ask. If I really don’t think I can answer, I won’t. Okay?”

Seung-gil nodded, forgetting the other man couldn’t see him. “I like Phichit. A lot. But I am too afraid to tell him because he has been acting very confusingly. I thought maybe he felt the same but then he said things like he’s ‘still trying to figure out how he feels.’ So I am not sure what I should do.”

Seung-gil heard a long, tired sigh from the other end of the phone. What he couldn’t see was Yuuri letting his face drop into his hand. 

Yuuri hadn’t wanted to push but after hearing this so straightforwardly from Seung-gil, he decided he was done trying to be delicate. He really thought his friends were less idiotic than this but apparently not. For all of Phichit’s talk to him about, well, talking, the younger man didn’t seem to be doing well taking his own advice. 

“Seung-gil, I don’t know what to tell you other than this: just tell Phichit how you feel.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, just say what you said to me!” Yuuri wasn’t convinced these two weren’t hopeless. “Just say ‘Phichit, I like you. A lot!’ That’s all you have to do.”

“But I already told him I thought he was attractive and he didn’t really take well to it–”

“Are you sure he understood you were telling him that?” Yuuri had learned over the course of his talks with Seung-gil that for someone as blunt as he was, Seung-gil could often say things that were confusing and not straightforward at all. This was especially true when it came to things involving emotions. 

“I… I’m not sure. I told him I liked how he dressed.” Yuuri groaned. “What?”

“That’s not how you tell–” Yuuri huffed, “You know what, never mind. Just tell him already. I need to go.”

He hung up abruptly, leaving Seung-gil confused and uncertain. Yuuri honestly felt bad for hanging up so suddenly but he’d apologize later. Right now he had a call to make.

\---

Phichit was pulled from sleep by a phone call, his groggy mind not understanding what the sound was for much longer than on a normal morning. When he picked his phone up he realized that was because it wasn’t morning, but instead around ten at night. When had he fallen asleep?

“Hello?”

“Phichit, it’s Yuuri.” Yuuri had a real knack for calling Phichit when he was sleeping.

“Yuuri? Is this about my calls? I didn’t mean to worry you, I just was trying to contact you and forgot about the time difference.”

“Forget about that.” Yuuri sounded like he was on a mission so Phichit shut up and let him speak. “Have you told Seung-gil how you feel?”

“Umm… no? Why would I?”

“You want to date him, right?”

“I guess. I’m fine being just friends, though. It’s not that different for me.”

Phichit could practically hear the grimace on Yuuri’s face. What had he done to get his friend in such a mood?

“But you want to date him?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell him. Tomorrow.”

“What?” Phichit exclaimed before quieting down, sincerely hoping he hadn’t woken Seung-gil. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

“You need to actually talk to him and tell him how you feel, you’ve got the poor boy convinced he’s annoyed you somehow.” 

Maybe Yuuri was stretching the truth, but at this point, he was tired and wanted these stupid idiots to just get their heads out of their asses. 

“He’s hardly a boy.” Phichit laughed, “How old are you again?”

“I’ll be the parent friend if I have to.” Yuuri replied playfully, much of the seriousness seeping out of his tone. “And I’m telling you that you need to just tell Seung-gil the truth.”

“If he liked me back, he’d tell me.” Phichit remarked even though he wasn’t confident in the statement. “He’s pretty straightforward.” 

“If you were in his position would you say anything? He knows you’re ace and aro, don’t you think he might be hesitant about pushing too hard?”

“I guess…” Phichit hated to agree with Yuuri, but maybe just telling the other man was a good idea. “But I think I should wait until the end of the trip. Just in case.”

Yuuri groaned loudly, “Phichit you’ll regret it if you wait that long and he says yes. Think of all the time together you could have.”

“But think about how awkward it’ll be if he says no!” Phichit was too tried to entertain these crazy plans. “And before you say anything, this is completely different than me telling you to have actual conversations with Viktor.”

“Phichit.” Yuuri’s voice took on a pleading tone. “Just tell him. Would I ever mislead you?”

“No.”

“And why not?”

“Because you’re my best friend.”

“Exactly.” Yuuri let out a satisfied puff of air, “Now get some sleep.”

Phichit laughed, “Okay. Love you, Yuuri.”

“Love you too, Phichit.” 

Yuuri hung up, feeling confident for a moment before realizing that he was kind of an idiot.

“What’s wrong?” Viktor asked when Yuuri entered their bedroom, groaning loudly before flopping down onto their bed.

“I’m turning into you.” His words were muffled by the bedding and Viktor couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Excuse me?”

Yuuri lifted his head slightly. “I did something stupid and impulsive.”

Viktor pouted at his husband, “I am only impulsive for love.”

Yuuri groaned even though he was smiling. “I guess I just have to hope it works out, then.”

“Guess so.”

Yuuri wasn’t really religious but he was praying god he could think of in the hopes that one of them could prevent a disaster. 

\---

Seung-gil could not sleep. 

Yuuri’s insistence that he tell Phichit about the huge crush Seung-gil had on him was still ringing in his head, keeping him from getting any sleep. 

Yuuri hadn’t even let Seung-gil explain all the ways telling Phichit would be a bad idea. He hadn’t even let Seung-gil explain all the embarrassing things he’d already done in a single day and how much he didn’t want to add to that list. 

Seung-gil slipped out of bed to head to the kitchen for some water, ready to try every clichéd remedy to sleeplessness until he fell asleep. By some miracle, or was it a curse, Phichit had already beat him to the kitchen, looking tired. Seung-gil felt for the other man; the only thing worse than not being able to sleep was not being able to sleep when you felt tired. 

“I thought you’d be out all night.” Seung-gil told him, startling the other man. 

“Seung-gil! Didn’t expect you to be up. I hope I didn’t wake you.” When he shook his head, Phichit sighed in relief. “I didn’t put my phone on silent and it woke me up. You?”

“Never fell asleep.” He poured himself a glass of water, silent expectation sitting between them both. “Hey Phichit.” Seung-gil knew he was getting himself into something he was in no way prepared to follow through with. “Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?” Phichit looked interested but also a little concerned. 

“Remember how you asked if I’d date you?” Phichit nodded, “And I said yes.” Another nod, slower this time. “Well, would you date someone who’s boring, blunt, and cold?” Phichit didn’t nod but it wouldn’t have mattered because at the moment Seung-gil was looking intently at his socks. “Knowing all that, would you date me.”

“I don’t think you’re boring or cold.” Phichit said, unintentionally echoing their earlier conversation. 

Tears pricked at Seung-gil’s eyes, the feeling making him angry. It just felt so much like Phichit was avoiding his obvious intentions. Seung-gil was definitely angry with himself right now but he also had some choice words for his sister and Yuuri. How could they both lead him into what was so obviously a bad idea. 

“You don’t have to be so nice.” Seung-gil’s tone was biting and Phichit guessed he’d misinterpreted the situation again. “I just wanted a yes or a no.”

_Yuuri is cautious._ Phichit reasoned, taking more time than he might have had he realized Seung-gil was going his best to keep down tears. _He wouldn’t mislead me and he wouldn’t tell me to do something crazy with no reason._

“Yes.”

Seung-gil looked up, his face showing more emotions in the span of a couple seconds that Phichit had seen on his face since they met. Any other time Phichit would have been more interested in this series of plainly shown emotions but right now all he could pay attention to were the tears in the other man’s eyes and the shaking of his hands.

“Yes?” Seung-gil managed to ask weakly. 

Phichit blushed, looking away for a moment before stepping closer to Seung-gil. He was still careful to not step too far into the other man’s personal space. 

“Seung-gil,” Phichit swallowed, hoping to force his anxiety back into his stomach. “I don’t think you’re cold or boring. You’re always very considerate and even if you don’t care about much, the things you care about you care about a lot. And you’re not boring. You’re quiet and introverted but not boring. I like talking to you and spending time with you.” Phichit sort of wanted to take Seung-gil’s hand but felt like that would be pushing it. “I don’t mind you bluntness. No, I’m glad for it. I want to spend my time with someone who isn’t just staying around to be nice and, well, I know you wouldn’t do that.” Phichit clenched his fists, snapping his head up to look at Seung-gil . The other man had blinked his tears away but his eyes were still red and unsure. Phichit’s eyes were set and so was his entire face, looking more serious than he had since the last time he competed. “Seung-gil, I would very much like to date you if you would date me too.”

For a moment Seung-gil hesitated and Phichit’s mind ran through twenty possibilities as to why in about ten seconds. Three of them were reasonable, the other seventeen were less so, and exactly one of all twenty was not disastrous for Phichit. 

“Umm… Sorry, I don’t know–” Seung-gil grimaced at his inability to find words, wishing he could be good with words for once in his life. “Yes, I want to date you too.”

Phichit broke into a huge smile, all negative thoughts gone. Okay, not all of them, but most of them. Seung-gil’s mind was mostly blank, it was still not sure how to process what was happening, but he had enough presence of mind to admire the brightness of Phichit’s smile and how good he looked when he was this happy.

He only had a moment to admire it, though, because Phichit threw his arms around Seung-gil’s neck and hugged him tightly.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep now.” Phichit murmured, still smiling.

“Me neither.” Seung-gil found himself smiling now, a small content smile that he thought he could get used to. “Want to watch another movie?”

Phichit nodded, letting go of Seung-gil’s neck so he could lead the other man by the hand towards the couch as if the apartment was Phichit’s and not Seung-gil’s.

“I know the perfect movie.” Phichit smiled mischievously and Seung-gil could guess what movie had in mind but he was more than okay with that. 

They held hands through the entire thing and Seung-gil finally got the answer to his question about whether Phichit’s hands were as soft as they looked. 

“Did you like it?” Phichit asked, snuggling up against Seung-gil’s side. 

“I did.” Seung-gil was still smiling faintly, he was pretty sure he could get used to this.

The answer was yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's actually done now. How did this get so long? Why did it get so disgustingly fluffy at the end? Like jesus it's way #Sweeter than I meant it to be. 
> 
> I probs will write a longer Seungchuchu fic once I come up with an idea. I'm not sure but I'm thinking I might do a like fantasy or sci-fi AU for it. Current half-baked ideas involve Assassin!Seung-gil and Mage!Phichit but we'll see. I also have a lot of other fics I should be working on :P
> 
> Originally I was going to go more into depth of the specifics of Phichit's asexuality and aromanticism but it was a bit long and sort of slowed the plot too much so I took it out. That said I did want to touch on that I am not great at explaining the aro part of his view on dating because I don't experience that myself and am instead basing it partially off a friend of mine and partially off of a repurposing of my own asexuality (and how I feel about sex). If it's at all confusing/not well explained/not well portrayed then please feel free to ask/tell/exasperatedly explain. 
> 
> Thanks for sticking around everyone! I've loved all the great comments on this fic and generally all the support. I love you all!!!   
> 

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you for reading as well as leaving kudos and comments. 
> 
>    
> [ Tumblr ](http://mismatched-ideas.tumblr.com/)


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